Hi, I'm Sarina.
The short answer to "What do you do?" depends on when you ask. The longer answer is why this website exists. Honest tales from a life uniquely lived. So pour yourself a cup of tea, pull up a chair, and get comfortable. I've probably already made the mistake you're about to make.
I've never really known how to answer the question, "Hey, Sarina, so... what do you do?"
The short answer changes every few years.
You may know me as Ina Bravo. Depending on when our paths crossed, I was probably doing something completely different. Singing. Writing songs. Working behind the scenes in music. Building businesses. Reinventing myself... again.
This blog is where I hang those hats at the door.
Here, I'm just Sarina.
My story started in the Netherlands. At thirteen, I was modeling for clothing catalogs while trying to survive high school. By fifteen, I was performing in a girl group, balancing rehearsals, school, recording sessions, and major imposter vibes. You know... all the perfectly normal things that come with growing up in front of other people.
From the outside, I'm sure it looked exciting. Inside, I was just a kid trying to figure out who I was, often wondering why connecting with people my own age felt so much harder than stepping onto a stage.
Music became the one constant. It made me feel most like myself, and eventually gave me the courage to make one of the biggest decisions of my life.
That decision took me across Europe, sleeping in places I hadn't planned to sleep, singing in places I never imagined I'd sing, and busking on street corners to earn enough money for whatever came next.
Somehow, it led me onto a one-way flight to America.
I didn't know a soul. I had no safety net. Just a stubborn belief that if I kept saying yes to the next step, I'd eventually build the life I was chasing.
That one decision changed everything.
Since then, life has been anything but linear. I've written hundreds of songs, built businesses, worked on both sides of the music industry, watched dreams come true, and watched just as many fall apart. More often than not, starting over turned out to be part of the job description.
Some dreams happened exactly the way I pictured them. Most didn't.
Ironically, the moments that shaped me rarely happened on stage. They happened in tiny apartments where I questioned everything; in heartbreaks that forced me to rebuild my identity; in financial setbacks, friendships ending, career pivots, therapy, panic attacks, and slowly learning how to be alone.
I learned to trust myself. I learned that success doesn't automatically make you happy. And I learned that sometimes the biggest breakthroughs only arrive after the life you planned completely falls apart.
If you've found me because of music, welcome. If you're curious about physical and/or mental health, welcome. And if you're here because you're trying to rebuild your own life, you're especially welcome. Those are all parts of my story. None of them are the whole story.
This isn't a Health blog. It isn't a music blog. It isn't a self-help blog. It's simply my life, written honestly.
Some posts will make you laugh. Some will make me slightly uncomfortable to publish. You'll find stories about the music industry; the beautiful parts and the parts nobody talks about. You'll find faith, because somewhere along the way I started asking questions I never thought I'd ask and slowly found my way back to God. You'll find health, body image, and everything that came with it. And on other days, it'll simply be whatever life happened to be teaching me that week.
One thing you'll notice pretty quickly: I don't have everything figured out.
I don't write because I have the answers. I write because I've spent most of my life searching for them. If something I've lived through helps someone else laugh a little harder, think a little deeper, or feel a little less alone, then every difficult chapter suddenly becomes worth something.
A quick note
Whenever I write about mental health, supplements, or anything medical, I'm sharing my personal experience, not giving medical advice. Everyone's body is different, and my story shouldn't replace professional guidance. There's a Disclaimer page that explains exactly how I approach these topics, because I believe honesty also comes with responsibility.
However you ended up here, through a song, a video, a random Google search, social media, or plain curiosity, I'm genuinely glad you found this little corner of the internet.
Pull up a chair. Read whatever speaks to you. Stay as long as you'd like. And if these stories resonate with you, I'd love for you to come back.
We're all trying to figure life out. This is simply where I write about mine.
~ Sarina
